So I managed to blow up my 93' on Friday while cruising home from the storage barn. By cruising, I mean full throttle, 14 pounds of boost, at the bottom of 3rd gear, cause that's how I cruise . I was planning to go to the strip but I never made it....
The engine lost all power after the shift into third so I immediately looked in the rear view and saw a huge cloud of smoke trailing me. I shifted into neutral and shut down the engine and coasted onto the shoulder. I didn't get a chance to check the oil pressure gauge before the shutdown, so I'm not sure if I lost oil pressure. When I got to the shoulder and opened the hood, there was coolant everywhere (hit the hood above the intake and trailed me to where I parked) and the engine was hissing from somewhere around the intake/cylinder heads. There is some oil under the hood, but only a very small amount and it appears that most of it got pushed out through the breather and the oil fill tube. The engine oil in the engine is still full and very clean.
I haven't torn it down yet to see what exactly let loose. I'm assuming I either blew one of the head gaskets or cracked the block. This car was last dyno'd @530+ RWHP, so I know I'm on borrowed time with this block, especially being a blower car. I have two questions since this is the first stock block engine I've actually "blown up" and I didn't build this engine.
-Is there anywhere else on the block I should check for cracks other then the lifter valley? I also know about the cracking issues by the main caps, just not sure if I should be checking anywhere else for cracks.
-If the block is ok, would a move to head studs provide anymore clamping force to help prevent this from happening again or does the stock block flex that much they are of no help? I know the issue with the stock block and the flexing that can occur at these power levels, so I'm just curious if head studs would be anywhere worth it. Or if staying with regular head bolts and gaskets would provide a "fuse" to prevent other major damage from occurring (thinking detonation, cylinder pressures, ect).
I know my ultimate fix is to go to an aftermarket block, which is in the plans. Just want to get this thing back to running right now before I dedicate more time and money to the switch to an aftermarket. If the block is cracked, well, that makes my decision easy!
The engine lost all power after the shift into third so I immediately looked in the rear view and saw a huge cloud of smoke trailing me. I shifted into neutral and shut down the engine and coasted onto the shoulder. I didn't get a chance to check the oil pressure gauge before the shutdown, so I'm not sure if I lost oil pressure. When I got to the shoulder and opened the hood, there was coolant everywhere (hit the hood above the intake and trailed me to where I parked) and the engine was hissing from somewhere around the intake/cylinder heads. There is some oil under the hood, but only a very small amount and it appears that most of it got pushed out through the breather and the oil fill tube. The engine oil in the engine is still full and very clean.
I haven't torn it down yet to see what exactly let loose. I'm assuming I either blew one of the head gaskets or cracked the block. This car was last dyno'd @530+ RWHP, so I know I'm on borrowed time with this block, especially being a blower car. I have two questions since this is the first stock block engine I've actually "blown up" and I didn't build this engine.
-Is there anywhere else on the block I should check for cracks other then the lifter valley? I also know about the cracking issues by the main caps, just not sure if I should be checking anywhere else for cracks.
-If the block is ok, would a move to head studs provide anymore clamping force to help prevent this from happening again or does the stock block flex that much they are of no help? I know the issue with the stock block and the flexing that can occur at these power levels, so I'm just curious if head studs would be anywhere worth it. Or if staying with regular head bolts and gaskets would provide a "fuse" to prevent other major damage from occurring (thinking detonation, cylinder pressures, ect).
I know my ultimate fix is to go to an aftermarket block, which is in the plans. Just want to get this thing back to running right now before I dedicate more time and money to the switch to an aftermarket. If the block is cracked, well, that makes my decision easy!